Dr. Danilo Harms

Research Department Arachnology

Collection Department of Arachnology

Research Interests

Ich leite die Abteilung für Spinnentiere und Tausendfüßer am CeNak und bin an einer Vielzahl von wissenschaftlichen Projekten über Spinnentiere beteiligt. In meiner Arbeitsgruppe beschäftigen wir uns vor allem mit Analysen zur Biodiversität der Spinen und deren Verwandten im weiteren Sinne: i) paläontologische Studien um die Evolutionsgeschichte dieser Tiere über die Zeit zu verstehen; ii) biogeografische und phylogenetische Studien um die Verwandtschaftsbeziehungen der Spinnentiere zu erforschen und die zugrundeliegenden Prozesse ihrer Evolution zu erkunden; iii) ökologische Modellierungen um die Zukunft einzelner Arten im Verlaufe des anthropogenen Klimawandels und zunehmenden Lebensraumverlustes vorauszusagen. Zu diesem Zwecke arbeite ich mit Ökologen und Paläontologen in größeren Verbundprojekten zusammen, wenngleich die sammlungsbezogene taxonomische und systematische Arbeit die Grundlage meiner Arbeit darstellt.

Als Kustos einer wissenschaftlichen Sammlung bin ich insbesondere an Strategien der Digitalisierung interessiert und baue mit meinen Kollegen momentan eine neue „Biobank“ für Gewebe- und DNA-Proben auf, welche zukünftig als Reservoir für genetische und genomische Analysen im Bereich der Biodiversitätsforschung fungieren soll. Ein wichtiges Anliegen ist mir zudem die Öffentlichkeitsarbeit mit Freiwilligen und Medien, jedoch auch die wissenschaftliche Beratung von Industriepartnern und öffentlichen Einrichtungen.

Scientific career

• Since May 2016 Head of the Department of Arachnology and Curator of the Collection Chelicerata & Myriapoda, Center for Natural History (CeNak), University of Hamburg
• June 2014-March 2016 Senior Scientist, Bennelongia Environmental Consultants, Perth, Australia
• 2009-2014 EIPRS Scholar of the Australian Government and two PhD Scholarships of the University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
• 2009: Scholarship of the German National Academic Foundation (rejected)
• 2008-2009 Freelancer at the Natural History Museum Berlin, Department of Arachnids
• 2006-2007 Scholar of the German Academic Exchange Service
• 2006 six month stay at the Western Australian Museum in Perth, Australia
• 2005 several student jobs as assistant at the Freie Universität Berlin

Academic education

• 2009 - 2014 Doctoral thesis ‘The evolution of mesic biomes: insights from an ancient lineage of arachnids’; Supervisor: Prof. Dr. J. Dale Roberts, University of Western Australia und Prof. Dr. Mark S. Harvey, Western Australian Museum, Perth
• 2007 - 2008 Diploma thesis ‘Phylogeny of pirate spiders (Arachnida: Araneae: Mimetidae) with reference to the Australasian fauna’; Supervisor: Prof. Dr. T. Bartolomaeus (Freie Universität Berlin) und Prof. Dr. Hannelore Hoch (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin). Top score.
• 2004 - 2007 Diploma main study of biology at the Free University of Berlin and teacher training in chemistry and biology at the FU and TU Berlin
• 2000 - 2004 Diploma in Biology at the Free University of Berlin and teacher training in chemistry, biology and education at the FU Berlin, HU Berlin and TU Berlin

List of publications (2017-2018)

• Dunlop, J.A., Kothoff, U., Hammel, J., Ahrens, J. & Harms, D. (2018) Arachnids in Bitterfeld amber: A unique fauna of fossils from the heart of Europe or simply old friends? Evolutionary Systematics 2, in press.
• Harms, D. & Dupérré, N. (2018) An annotated type catalogue of the camel spiders (Arachnida: Solifugae) held in the Zoological Museum Hamburg. Zootaxa, 4375, 1-58.
• Harvey, M.S., Cosgrove, J.G., Harms, D., Selden, P.A., Shih, C. & Wang, C.-C. (2018) The oldest chthonioid pseudoscorpion (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Chthonioidea: Chthoniidae): a new genus and species from the Late Cretaceous Myanmar amber. Zoologischer Anzeiger, in press.
• Harms, D. (2018) The origins of diversity in ancient landscapes: deep phylogeographic structuring in a pseudoscorpion (Pseudotyrannochthoniidae: Pseudotyrannochthonius) reflects Plio-Pleistocene climate fluctuations. Zoologischer Anzeiger, in press.
• Harvey, M.S., Rix, M.G., Harms, D., Giribet, G., Vink, C.J. & Walter, D.E. (2017) The biogeography of Australasian arachnids. Handbook of Australasian Biogeography (ed. by M.C. Ebach), pp. 241-268. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL .
• Baehr, B., Harms, D., Dupérré, N. & Raven, R. (2017) The Australian Lynx Spiders (Araneae: Oxyopidae: Oxyopes) of the Godeffroy Collection, including the description of a new species. Evolutionary Systematics, 1: 11-37
• Baehr, B.C., Raven, R. & Harms, D. (2017) “High Tide or Low Tide”: Desis bobmarleyi sp. n., a new spider from coral reefs in Australia’s Sunshine State and its relative from Sāmoa (Araneae, Desidae, Desis). Evolutionary Systematics, 1, 111-120.
• Framenau, V.W. & Harms, D. (2017) A new species of Mouse Spider (Actinopodidae, Missulena) from the Goldfields region of Western Australia. Evolutionary Systematics, 1, 39-46.
• Harms, D. & J.A., D. (2017) The fossil history of pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones). Fossil Record, 20, 215-238.
• Townley, M.A. & Harms, D. (2017) Comparative study of spinning field development in two species of the pirate spider genus Australomimetus (Araneae: Mimetidae). Evolutionary Systematics, 1, 47-75.

Teaching

• since 2017 "Evolution and systematics of terrestrial arthropods": Module with lecture, seminar and practical course; University of Hamburg
• since 2016 "Organizational Forms of the Animal Kingdom" at the University of Hamburg: Lectures and internship as part of the Bachelor program
• since 2016 "Zoological excursions to ecology" as part of the Bachelor's program

Supervised theses

• 2018: Anna-Louisa Wriedt: Pseudoscorpions from Cretaecous Burmese amber; Systematics and Taxonomy; Bachelor thesis (co-supervised by Dr. Ulrich Kotthoff)
• 2018: Sandro Müller: Schizomids from Cretaecous Burmese amber: Systematics and Taxonomy; Bachelor thesis (co-supervised by Dr. Ulrich Kotthoff)
• 2018: Michelle Lorenz: Pseudoscorpions in Bitterfeld amber: taxonomy of chthoniid pseudoscorpions; Bachelor thesis
• 2017: Jennifer Ahrens: Pseudoscorpions in Bitterfeld amber: Synchotron imaging techniques and 3D reconstruction; Master thesis
• 2017: Kerstin Dreczko: Spiders of Rainforest Transformation Systems in Sumatra, Indonesia; Bachelor thesis (co-supervised by Prof. Dr. Mathilde Cordellier)

Editorial work

• since 2017: scientific editor of the journals Zoosystematics and Evolution and Evolutionary Systematics
• since 2016: scientific editor of the journal Zootaxa (section Amaurobioidea: Agelenidae, Amaurobiidae, Titanoecidae, Amphinectidae)

Association work

• since 2016: Board member of the Arachnological Society

Memberships

• Australasian Arachnological Society
• International Society of Myriapodology
• AraGes – Arachnologische Gesellschaft e.V.
• International Society of Arachnology
• Society of Australian Systematic Biologsts

Excursions and research stays

• 2017: Ghana, West-Africa
• 2014-2016: more than 30 collections (lasting several weeks) in arid Western Australia (Pilbara, Midwest, Goldfields, Great Victoria Desert)
• 2011: Three-month research trip to the east coast of Australia (South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland)
• 2010: Research trip to Tasmania, Australia
• 2010: Research trip to Japan, South Korea and Russia
• 2006: Research stay at the Western Australian Musuem in Perth, Australia